Cheera Thoran - Spinach Kerala style

Cheera is a Malayalam word used to denote most of the leafy vegetables ...  The one used in this recipe is a variety of Spinach, predominantly green with some red highlights... 


There are two other very similar versions of this variety of spinach... one is completely green and the other is red (not exactly red... beetroot-ish color)...
my personal favourite is the complete green version... I can eat bowls of this one with just yogurt.. 


The recipe is super simple and requires about 10 mins in all... 

Ingredients :

Spinach - a bunch (about a pound)
Shallots - 3-4 thinly sliced
Green chilli - 2-3
Red chilli - 3-4
Grated coconut - 1/3 of a cup
Mustard seeds - a teaspoon
Oil - One tablespoon
Note: Adjust the chillies based on your taste.
 

What not to do:

 Do not add water to spinach. They have it in them.

 Adding salt can wait till the spinach shrinks in size. This helps reduce the margin of error while adding salt.

Method:

Clean and cut the spinach. (Tip: If the stem is fat, cut thinly, so that it cooks as fast as the leaf). Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add sliced shallots...after a minute or so add green chillies and red chillies (sliced or crushed)... When the onion begins to brown, add spinach and cover the pan ...When spinach shrinks in quantity, add salt and stir well... Cover again till spinach is cooked. This usually take around 5 mins.  Add the grated coconut and mix well... Stir well until completely dry...

This is best eaten with yogurt and rice. Enjoy :)